01/23/2018 - Planning for H-1Bs

While the government is still dealing with the current fiscal year and its budget, it’s not too early to consider any potential H-1Bs for FY2019.

Timing is everything. Congress sets a limit on the number of H-1B visas available each year. While the H-1B numbers for the next fiscal year do not become available until October 1, 2018, employers may file petitions to request numbers as early as six months in advance, i.e., April 1, 2018. As a result, we are writing to encourage employers to review their hiring needs and determine whether they should initiate H-1B processing for anticipated hires, or even recent hires in other nonimmigrant status now. During the last few fiscal years, we ran out of H-1B numbers within the first five days of filing! We anticipate that the numbers will run out in early April again this year.

(Please note that the H-1B process consists of two steps: (1) filing the Labor Condition Application with the U.S. Department of Labor which takes at least 10 days to process and (2) filing the actual H-1B petition with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. For this reason, employers will need to contact us no later than March 1, 2018 to ensure sufficient time to process the H-1B petition for timely filing.)

Every time an employer hires an individual for a specialty occupation an H-1B number must be available. (An exception arises where the individual is already with another employer in H-1B status, but this employer cannot be a university/college or a non-profit government research organization.) When numbers run out, the employer has to wait until the next fiscal year to file for an H-1B. In some cases there may be no other nonimmigrant visa option for the individual and the individual may have to leave the U.S. or, at least, not be able to work for the employer until a year later.

You should consider filing an H-1B this April if the following applies:

You are looking to hire an individual who is not in H-1B status already

You are hiring an individual who is already in H-1B status, but is currently employed with a college/university (this situation requires a new H-1B number)

You are hiring an individual who is already in H-1B status, but is with a non-profit government research organization (this situation requires a new H-1B number)

Your employee is in F-1 Student Status

Your employee is in L-1B Status and is considering seeking legal permanent residency in the United States

Your employee is in another nonimmigrant status and may want to seek legal permanent residency in the United States

*** Please also note that as of the writing of this, and despite reported rumors of changes to the H-1B program, USCIS has not made any announcements regarding changes to the requirements or the process and we anticipate that USCIS will continue processing H-1B petitions as before. Please stay tuned. ***

The above information has been provided for educational purposes only. Please contact us at your earliest convenience if you have any questions concerning the above and how the information may apply to your particular circumstances.